6 cushing's parliamentary manual. of minorities are buttressed by wall after wall of guar- antees in the Senate, the Executive, the Constitution, both Federal and State, and the Supreme Court. (See Bections 174, 220, 221, 222, of this Manual.) Power of the House over the Journal. — Several orrespondents have inquired : " When the proceedings Df the previous meeting are under consideration for adoption, is it legal to alter any of the proceedings of that meeting ?" If it is claimed by a member that there is an error in the minutes, and he moves an amend- ment, and the motion is seconded, the Chair shall put the motion to the assembly. If the motion is sustained, ihe Secretary must alter the minutes, read thtm to the uss mbly and have them approved. After approval, no succeeding assembly can legally or fairly alter them. As Daniel Webster maintained, in his remarks in the Senate of the United States, January 16, 1^37, on the Expunging Resolution : " Senators from other States h-ive no power or authority to expunge any vote or votes which we have given here, and which we have recorded agreeably to the express provision of the Con- stitution, that ' Each house shall keep a journal of us proceedings.' If the Senate may expunge one part of the journal of a former session, it may expunge the whole of the record of one session or all sessions. The same rule applies to the journal of every delibera- tive body. (See Sections 26, 33, 56, 78, 92, 94, 111, 113, 161, 264, 256, 257, lor unaia20us proceedings). But the privilege of correcting the journal is often exercised by deliberative bodies. Thus, in the House of Rep- "CMenUtives, December 11th, 1888, Mr. Hatch, of Missouri, asked unanimous consent for the consideration of a motion for the correction of the journal, which faded to give the title and number of his bill for the crea'lon of the Department of Agriculture, though the number and title appeared in the notes from which the journal was compiled. The House then voted to make the correction.
